88 70 hp grinds into gear idle is as low as i can get it with out it cutting out around 800-1000. idle too high still? what would cause the eng to not be able to idle at the 650 range?
to shift an outboard you should "snap" it into gear. easing it into gear is the worst way to do it. but if this is not the problem, then you could have a mis adjusted shift linkage, or a bad clutch dog.